 Kirkcudbright railway station building | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Scotland |
| Dates of operation | 1864–1965 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Kirkcudbright Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Kirkcudbright Railway was a railway branch line linking Kirkcudbright to the Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway at Castle Douglas. It opened in 1864, and closed in 1965.
By 1861 railways were at last being constructed in the thinly populated districts of South West Scotland. The Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway (CD&DR) had opened in 1859, connecting with the much larger Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) at Dumfries, and the Portpatrick Railway, later to be the core of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway, was being constructed with the intention of linking Portpatrick with the British main line network and encouraging a ferry service to the north of Ireland.
Desiring the advantages of connection to the railway network, and fearing the loss of County Town status to Castle Douglas, local interests in Kirkcudbright promoted the Kirkcudbright Railway to connect the town with Castle Douglas. The cost of construction was estimated at £40,000; the G&SWR was content to offer support for the scheme, and agreed to subscribe £15,000 if the CD&DR would subscribe £5,000. The Kirkcudbright Railway (KR) obtained its authorising Act of Parliament on 1 August 1861. [note 1] [1] [2] [3]
The first general meeting of the new Company did not take place until 25 October 1861. While construction was proceeding under Wylie & Peddie, the KR concluded an agreement with the G&SWR for the latter to work the line for 42½% of gross receipts after deduction of cartage costs. The construction was ready for a demonstration trip on 30 January 1864. The line opened to goods traffic on 17 February 1864 but the Board of Trade (BoT) Inspecting Officer declined to authorise passenger operation until the junction with the Portpatrick Railway was improved. The BoT had introduced a rule that junctions of single line railways must be made double-line at the point of connection, and the Castle Douglas junction did not comply. The line opened to passengers on 2 March 1864 between Kirkcudbright and a quickly-constructed station at St Andrew Street, Castle Douglas, short of the junction.
The planned entry to the junction at Castle Douglas was extremely sharp; and Kirkcudbright trains entering the station had to use a short length of Portpatrick Railway track; it appears that permission for this had not been properly obtained.
Signalling alterations were made at the Castle Douglas junction and a low speed restriction imposed, and through passenger running commenced on 15 August 1864. [note 2] [1] [3] [4] Capital was £60,000 in shares with borrowing powers up to £20,000. [5] [6] [2]
The 1895 public timetable shows seven trains each way except Sundays; one each way ran Mondays and Fridays only; the journey time was 25 minutes. The entire line between Dumfries and Kirkcudbright is shown as the "Kirkcudbright Branch".
A mid morning train from London St Pancras to Glasgow gave a connection at Dumfries for Castle Douglas. A note against Bridge of Dee, Tarff and Kirkcudbright stations states, "Passengers from South of Carlisle for these Stations will be conveyed by Special Train from Castle Douglas." [7]
The G&SWR absorbed a number of small companies that it had earlier sponsored, and this included the Kirkcudbright Railway; the change was ratified by an Amalgamation Act of 5 July 1865. The absorption became effective on 1 August 1865. The shareholders received a cash settlement of face value plus 5% for their shares. [3]
The line was a little over 10 miles (16 km) long.
The station at Kirkcudbright was on the east side of the River Dee; it had an all-over roof. The line ran north from Kirkcudbright, crossing the river at Tongueland Bridge (later spelt Tongland) and keeping to the west of the ridge that forms Bar Hill. After the station at Tarff, the line turns north-easterly crossing the Dee once again at Bridge of Dee. (In both cases the "bridge" in the name refers to an earlier road bridge.) It joined the Portpatrick Railway a little to the west of Castle Douglas station. The junction connection there originally joined the Portpatrick Railway line a short distance west of the station, by a very sharp curve. Improvements to the layout at the station took place some time before 1894, and the Kirkcudbright line then entered independently by a more gentle alignment, passing under a separate span of Dumfries Road bridge, which was widened for the purpose.
The stations were:
Kirkcudbrightshire, or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975, the area has formed part of Dumfries and Galloway for local government purposes. Kirkcudbrightshire continues to be used as a registration county for land registration. A lower-tier district called Stewartry covered the majority of the historic county from 1975 to 1996. The area of Stewartry district is still used as a lieutenancy area. Dumfries and Galloway Council also has a Stewartry area committee.
The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with a dense network of branch lines in the area surrounding Glasgow. It was absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. Many of its principal routes are still used, and the original main line between Carlisle and Glasgow is in use as part of the West Coast Main Line railway.
The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) was a railway company in Scotland. It served a triangular area of south-west Scotland between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle. It was formed on 28 October 1850 by the merger of two earlier railways, the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway and the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway. Already established in Ayrshire, it consolidated its position there and extended southwards, eventually reaching Stranraer. Its main business was mineral traffic, especially coal, and passengers, but its more southerly territory was very thinly populated and local traffic, passenger and goods, was limited, while operationally parts of its network were difficult.
The Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railways was a network of railway lines serving sparsely populated areas of south-west Scotland. The title appeared in 1885 when the previously independent Portpatrick Railway (PPR) and Wigtownshire Railway (WR) companies were amalgamated by Act of Parliament into a new company jointly owned by the Caledonian Railway, Glasgow & South Western Railway, Midland Railway and the London & North Western Railway and managed by a committee called the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Committee.
The Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway was a railway in south west Scotland which linked Castle Douglas in Kirkcudbrightshire to Dumfries.
The Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway was a railway company in Scotland, which constructed the line from near Cumnock to Gretna Junction, forming the route from Glasgow to Carlisle via Dumfries, in association with other lines. Its promoters hoped it would form the only railway between central Scotland and England, but it lost out to rival companies.
The Glasgow South Western Line is a mainline railway in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, and then either Carlisle via Dumfries, or Stranraer via Ayr, with a branch to East Kilbride.
Dumfries railway station serves the town of Dumfries in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located on the Glasgow South Western Line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by ScotRail who provide all passenger train services. It is staffed on a part-time basis throughout the week.
The Bridge of Weir Railway was an independent railway company that built a line from Johnstone to Bridge of Weir. It was taken over by the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) in 1865 and formed the base of a line that extended to Greenock, giving the G&SWR access to the harbour facilities there, competing with the rival Caledonian Railway.
The Ayr and Dalmellington Railway was a railway company in Scotland, which connected the growing ironworks community around Dalmellington with Ayr, in Ayrshire, Scotland. Its route was originally planned by the Ayrshire and Galloway Railway as part of a scheme to link Ayr with Castle Douglas, but lack of funds limited the construction to a very short section connecting the iron and coal pits of the Dalmellington Iron Company with its iron works, opening in 1849.
The Caledonian Railway main line in Scotland connected Glasgow and Edinburgh with Carlisle, via Carstairs and Beattock.
The Ayr and Maybole Junction Railway (A&MJR) was a railway in Ayrshire, Scotland that provided services between Ayr and Maybole. It opened in 1856 and was seen as a link in providing a through line between Glasgow and Portpatrick, then the ferry port for the north of Ireland.
The Maybole and Girvan Junction Railway was a railway company that constructed a line between Maybole and Girvan. Although promoted independently, it was supported by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, and was seen as part of a trunk line connecting Glasgow with a ferry port for the north of Ireland.
Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway (G&PJR) was a railway company in Scotland. It opened in 1877 between Girvan and Challoch Junction, where it joined the Portpatrick Railway, which had already reached Stranraer from Castle Douglas. Portpatrick had been an important ferry terminal for traffic to and from the north of Ireland, but its significance was waning and Stranraer assumed greater importance. The new line formed part of a route between Glasgow, Ayr and Stranraer.
Tarff railway station served the village of Ringford, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland from 1864 to 1965 on the Kirkcudbright Railway.
The Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Railway was a railway in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. It connected Dumfries with Lockerbie via Lochmaben. Promoted independently, it was absorbed by the Caledonian Railway to give access to Dumfriesshire and later to Portpatrick for the Irish ferry service. It opened in 1863, closed to ordinary passenger services in 1952, and closed completely in 1966.
The Glasgow and South Western Railway operated a number of cross-country lines in Ayrshire.
This article traces the Caledonian Railway branches in South Lanarkshire.
Glenluce station was a station open in 1862 on the former Port Road that was constructed on the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway.
Maxwelltown railway station was a station in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, located on the Dumfries-to-Stranraer direct railway line. It served the town of Maxwelltown.
